Touch sensitive panel in vehicle for user identification

ABSTRACT

A vehicle control system includes at least one touch pad having a plurality of touch sensitive elements and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the at least one touch pad. The processing circuitry is operable to receive touch pad input from the at least one touch pad, the touch pad input corresponding to a user&#39;s touch of at least some of the plurality of touch sensitive elements. The processing circuitry further processes the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics. The processing circuitry further processes the user finger characteristics to identify the user via pattern recognition and alters at least one vehicle setting based upon the identified user. Vehicle settings may be one or more of entertainment system settings, navigation system settings, suspension system settings, seat settings, mirror settings, steering wheel settings, climate control system settings, suspension system settings, engine control system settings, lighting system settings, and communication system settings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/261,702, entitled “TOUCH PAD USER IDENTIFICATION, GAMING INPUT, AND PREFERENCE INPUT,” (Attorney Docket No. BP20924), filed Nov. 16, 2009, pending, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to vehicle operations; and more particularly to electronics for controlling vehicle operations.

2. Description of the Related Art

Vehicles include numerous electrical systems, including vehicle control systems, entertainment systems, navigation systems, and seating systems, among others. The vehicle control systems control include vehicle engines/motor systems, drive train control systems, suspension control systems, braking systems, lighting systems, cruise control systems, fuel systems, etc. Some of these systems are customizable for particular users. For example, seat positions can be memorized for particular users and enacted upon identification of the user, typically by the user pressing a corresponding numbered button. Other user identification techniques include assigning a key fob to a particular user, identifying when the key fob is in use with the vehicle, and enacting settings particular to the key fob. Button depression requires user interaction. Key fobs may be exchanged between users. Both of these user identification techniques therefore have shortcomings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operation that are further described in the following Brief Description of the Drawings, the Detailed Description, and the claims. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a steering wheel having touch pads installed thereon and operative therewith according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a gear shift selector having a touch pad installed thereon and operative therewith according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle control system processing module and a plurality of touch pad modules constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle control system processing module, a plurality of touch pad modules, and a plurality of other vehicle systems constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad and touch pad circuitry constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating how a user's hand may overlay a touch pad according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the manner in which a user's hand upon the touch pad produces a particular pattern of capacitance upon the touch sensitive elements of the touch pad;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a vehicle control system to identify a user using touch pad input and to alter vehicle settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating alternative operations of a vehicle control system to identify a user using touch pad input and to alter vehicle settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine user finger/hand characteristics according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers and using the heat transfer characteristics to identify a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers and using the pulse rate characteristics to identify a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating the use of vehicle location data to assist in identifying a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating the use of voice data to assist in identifying a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating multiple modes of user identification operations of a vehicle control system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vehicle control system in deleting non-matched users after expiration of a user identification period according to one or more embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the use of user preference data to assist in identifying a user by a vehicle control system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a steering wheel having touch pads installed thereon and operative therewith according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a gear shift selector (gear shifter) having a touch pad installed thereon and operative therewith according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Referring to both FIGS. 1A and 1B touch pads may be used in an automobile, a boat, an aircraft, or any other vehicle in order to identify a user of the vehicle. These touch pads may be used for user identification and/or to receive user input. While only a steering wheel and gear shift selector are shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, touch pads could be located on other parts of a vehicle such as a door handle, arm rest, throttle control, dash panel, or other suitable location that a user could touch for the purposes and operations described herein.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1A, the steering wheel includes a steering wheel hub 104 and a steering wheel ring 102 of a conventional design. However, according to present invention, the steering wheel ring 102 includes four touch pads 106, 108, 110, and 112. Each of these touch pads 108, 106, 110, and 112 includes a plurality of touch sensitive elements that are able to detect the presence of a user's hands/fingers. For example, in the ten o'clock two o'clock driving position, a user's hands would be detected by touch pads 106 and 108. Further, at four o'clock and eight o'clock driving position, a user's hands would be detected at touch pads 110 and 112. Further, during single handed operation, a user's hand may be detected at any of the touch pads 106, 108, 110, or 112. In such case, upon detection of a user's hands/fingers, operation as according to the present invention may detect the position of the user's hands, the distance between his fingers, the position of the user's knuckles, the pressure that is asserted and applied to the steering wheel, relative heat transfer characteristics of the user's hands, and other unique identifiers of the user that could be employed to identify the user from a number of users.

Detection and identification of a user via his or her touch of the steering wheel may be employed to establish particular vehicle settings based upon the user identification. These settings may include entertainment system settings, environmental system settings such as temperature, suspension system settings, seat settings, minor settings, and other settings that may be pre-programmed for a user and that are initiated based upon an identification user.

Further, input received via each of the touch pads 108, 106, 110, and 112 may also be used as input to control operations of the vehicle. For example, each of these touch pads could be used to adjust the audio control of an audio device of the vehicle. The touch pad input received via touch pad 106, 108, 110, and/or 112 may be employed to adjust the volume, tuning, track selection, or other settings of an audio system. In another configuration, these touch pads may be used to adjust the environmental system settings within the vehicle. Moreover, these touch pads may serve as input devices to establish telephone calls via a coupled cellular telephone within the vehicle or via an Internet connection supported by the vehicle. As the user will appreciate, these touch pads 106, 108, 110, and 112 of the steering wheel may be employed for any other types of input as well that may be used for an automobile or other vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 1B, a gear shift controller 152 includes one or more touch pads 154. The touch pad 154 may be used to identify a user of a vehicle in which the gear selector 152 is installed. The gear shift 152 may be installed within an automobile, a boat, an aircraft, or another vehicle. The touch pad 154 may further be enabled to initiate input to the vehicle in which the gear shift 152 resides. For example, the touch pad 154 may be used to adjust not only the particular gear that the automobile is in but the suspension mode that the vehicle is in as well.

The input provided via touch pads 106, 108, 110, 112, and/or 154 of the devices of FIGS. 1A and 1B may be used also to adjust the suspension characteristics of the vehicle, the cruise control characteristics of the vehicle, minor settings of the vehicle, lighting settings of the vehicle, and/or other vehicle settings. A sequence of touches provided via the various touch pads 106, 108, 110, 112, and/or 154 may be employed to initiate various operations of a computer of a particular vehicle. For example, the touch input may be used to alter certain settings of a vehicle computer by tapping particular touch pads once or twice and then tapping other pads once or twice in order to initiate a control sequence.

Touch pad input may be capacitance, inductance, RF propagation characteristics, or a combination of these as measured at the touch sensitive elements of the touch pads. As will be further described herein, the touch pads may be employed to identify users based upon relative characteristics of the users' fingers or hands as they grasp or rest upon portions of a vehicle. Alternatively, the touch pads 106, 108, 110, 112, and 154 may capture finger print patterns. The information regarding the user that is received via touch pads 106, 108, 110, 112, and 154 may be relayed to a vehicle control system processing module, as will be described further herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle control system constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The vehicle control system of FIG. 2 includes a vehicle control system processing module 202 that couples to a plurality of touch pad modules 214A, 214B, 214C, and 214D via one or more communication links 220. The vehicle control system processing module 202 includes a wireless interface 204, processing circuitry 206, one or more wired interfaces 210, and memory 208. The vehicle control system processing module 202 typically also includes a user interface 212 and may include other components that are not shown such as at least one video interface, at least one audio interface, and m a video camera/video camera interface. The wireless interfaces 204 support wireless communications with various intra-vehicle components and various extra-vehicle components. The wireless interfaces 204 may support communications via cellular networks, Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) networks, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs), satellite communication networks, millimeter wave networks, etc. and may support proprietary communication formats.

The processing circuitry 206 may include one or more of a system processor, a digital signal processor, a processing module, dedicated hardware, application specific integrated circuit, or other circuitry that is capable of executing software instructions and for processing data. The memory 208 may be RAM, ROM, FLASH RAM, FLASH ROM, an optical memory, magnetic memory, or other types of memory that is capable of storing data and/or instructions in allowing processing circuitry to access same. The wired interfaces 210 may include a USB interface, a fire wire interface, a serial interface, a parallel interface, an optical interface, or another type of interface supported by a media that is copper, metal, or optical. The user interface 212 may include keypad, video display, cursor control, touch pad, or other type of interface that allows a user to interface with the vehicle control system processing module 202.

Each of the touch pad modules 214A, 214B, 214C, and 214D includes a respective touch pad interface (touch pad communication interface) 216A, 216B, 216C, and 216D, respectively. These touch pad interfaces 216A, 216B, 216C, and 216D support communications with the vehicle control system processing module 202 via the communication links 220. The communication links 220 may be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless links. Each touch pad module 214A, 214B, 214C, and 214D further includes respective touch pad circuitry 218A, 218B, 218C, and 218D, which is processing circuitry that interfaces with respective touch pads 220A, 220B, 220C, and 220D of the touch pad modules. The touch pad circuitry 218A, 218B, 218C, and 218D is capable of processing touch pad input received from the touch pads 220A, 220B, 220C, and 220D, as will be further described with reference to FIG. 4. The touch pad circuitry 218A, 218B, 218C, and 218D is processing circuitry capable of executing software instructions to perform desired functions.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a vehicle control system and a plurality of other vehicle systems constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The system of FIG. 3 includes a plurality of touch pad modules 214A, 214B, 214C, and 214D. The vehicle systems include an entertainment system 302, a navigation system 304, a suspension system 306, a seating system 308, a minor control system 310, a steering wheel system 312, a climate control system 314, a suspension system 316, an engine control system 318, a lighting system 320, and a communication system 322. All of these components are communicatively coupled via one or more communication links 220, that are wired and/or wireless. The communication system 322 supports extra-vehicular communications for the vehicle, which may be cellular communications, satellite communications, etc.

As will be further described herein, embodiments of the present invention a user of the vehicle is identified based upon touch pad input received at one or more touch pads of one or more of the touch pad modules 214A, 214B, 214C, and 214D. The touch pad input is processed by processing circuitry of the touch pad modules 214A, 214B, 214C, and/or 214D and/or the vehicle control system processing module 202 to identify a user of the vehicle. Based upon the user identification, the operation of one or more of the other systems 302-320 is modified. For example, identification of the user may be accomplished via touch pads of a steering wheel and/or in combination with touch pads of a gear shifter. Once the user is identified, suspension settings, seat settings, mirror settings, climate control settings, steering wheel settings, and entertainment settings are altered to correspond to those of the identified user. The reader will appreciate that any settings of any of the systems 302-320 of FIG. 3 may be modified based upon those corresponding to a particular user identity.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad and touch pad circuitry constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. A touch pad 402 includes a plurality of touch sensitive elements 404 each of which corresponds to a particular location of the touch pad 402. With the embodiment of FIG. 4, the touch pad 402 includes an array of touch sensitive elements 404, each of which may be a particular capacitively coupled location, inductively coupled location, or a radio frequency (RF) touch sensitive element. Touch pad circuitry 406 couples via a grid structure to the plurality of touch sensitive elements 404 to sense the particular capacitance, inductive, or RF characteristics at each of the touch sensitive elements.

Touch pad circuitry 406 scans the plurality of touch sensitive elements 404 via access of particular row-column combinations at particular times. The frequency or voltage at which the touch pad circuitry 406 scans the plurality of touch sensitive elements 404 may be altered over time. Choosing the scanning frequency or scanning voltage may be based upon a particular operational use of the touch pad. For example, the manner in which the touch pad is scanned will change based upon a particular operation of the touch pad, e.g., a first scanning frequency/scanning voltage may be employed for user identification while a second scanning frequency/scanning voltage may be employed for receiving user input.

The scanning done by the touch pad circuitry 406 of the plurality of touch sensitive elements may be made using a spread spectrum scanned frequency technique. Such technique may be employed to more efficiently capture information from the touch pad 402 at the various touch sensitive elements 404 or to determine which particular scanning frequencies are more successful than others in capturing input information.

Further, the scanning of each row and column corresponding to a particular touch sensitive element 404 may be altered based upon a detected capacitance (inductance/RF propagation) at the location. For example, one particular touch sensitive element 404 may have a fixed capacitance that does not vary over time. Such fixed capacitance may indicate that the particular touch sensitive element 404 is inoperable or that it receives no discernable input. In such case, by not scanning the particular touch sensitive element, other touch sensitive elements may be more frequently scanned or energy may be saved by not scanning all touch sensitive elements.

According to another aspect of the present invention, some portions of the touch pad may be disabled while others are enabled at differing points in time. Enablement of some touch sensitive elements and not others may be based upon a custom configuration of the touch pad for a particular input function provided.

The touch pad 402 may also be calibrated by the touch pad circuitry 406 based upon the environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and surrounding noise as detected by measured capacitance, inductance, or RF propagation characteristics. Calibration of the touch pad 402 allows the touch pad 402 to be more efficient and more effectively receive touch pad input for user identification and/or for other input purposes. The calibration of the touch pad 402 by the touch pad circuitry 406 may be initiated at particular points in time. The touch pad circuitry 406 may simply initiate calibration of the touch pad 402 upon the expiration of a timer such that the touch pad is calibrated at a particular regular time interval. Alternatively, the touch pad 402 may be calibrated after a period of inactivity, i.e., the touch pad circuitry 406 performs calibration when it determines that no input is present on the touch pad 402. With other operations or embodiments, the touch pad 402 may be calibrated by the touch pad circuitry 406 using other input criteria as well.

FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating how a user's hand may overlay a touch pad according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The touch pad 402 has a plurality of touch sensitive elements 404 and is mounted upon a portion of a vehicle so that it is adjacent a user's hand when the user holds the portion of the vehicle. The outline 502 of users hand is shown as overlaying the touch pad 402 and the plurality of touch sensitive elements 404. While the touch pad 402 of FIG. 5A is generally illustrated as planar, the touch pad 402 may wrap around a steering wheel, gear shifter, door handle, or another vehicle component.

FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the manner in which a user's hand upon the touch pad produces a particular pattern of capacitance (inductance/RF propagation) upon the touch pad. A relative capacitance, inductance, or RF propagation pattern of the user's hand 502 is shown on touch pad 402. The depiction in FIG. 5B is illustrated in general only of relative capacitance at each of the user's finger location positions upon the touch pad 402. For example, where the user's fingers touch physically the touch pad 402, stronger capacitance lines 552 and 554 are shown. Where the user's fingers overlay the touch pad 402, lesser capacitance, inductance, or RF propagation characteristic lines 554 are shown. While other capacitance lines on the touch pad 402 are not shown in FIG. 5B are numbered, the various capacitance lines would be present for the other fingers as well.

The capacitance pattern of the user's hand 502 upon the touch pad 402 is a signature of a particular user. The size of user's hands, the positions of their knuckles, the relative angle at which they grip the location in the vehicle. Thus, based upon this variation of the capacitive pattern upon the touch screen 402, differing users can be identified. Further, considering that the touch pad 402 may serve as an input device, the capacitance of the touch sensitive elements 404 of the touch pad of 402 over time as it varies may be used to indicate touch pad input. Based upon the scanning frequency, the scanning voltage, and other scanning factors of the touch pad 402 at the various touch sensitive elements 404, the characteristics measured at each touch sensitive element 404 over time will enable the device to identify a user or to try particular input via the touch pad 402.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a vehicle control system processing module and a touch pad module to identify a user using touch pad input and to alter vehicle settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Operations 600 begin when touch pad input is received from at least one touch sensitive element of a touch pad, step 602. The touch pad input has components from a plurality of touch sensitive elements of the touch pad. The touch pad input is processed by touch pad circuitry to determine user finger characteristics, step 604. The user finger characteristics are then transmitted to the vehicle control system processing module via a communications interface, step 606. The vehicle control system processing module then processes the user finger characteristics to identify a user via pattern matching operations, step 608. The vehicle control system processing module may then alter vehicle settings based upon user identity, step 610. Alternation of vehicle settings at step 610 may include the vehicle control system processing module sending direction(s) to the various vehicle systems described with reference to FIG. 3.

The pattern recognition used at step 608 may be based upon user finger characteristics, hand characteristics, or a combination of these. These characteristics and processing employed to determine these characteristics are described further herein. In another embodiment, heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers are also determined based upon touch pad input and the heat transfer characteristics can be used to assist in identifying a user. Pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers can be determined based upon the touch pad input and can be used to assist in identifying a user. Location data can be received from a navigation system and can be used to assist in identifying a user. Voice data can be received from a microphone and can be used to assist in identifying a user.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating alternative operations of a vehicle control system to identify a user using touch pad input and to alter vehicle settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Operations 700 begin when touch pad input is received from at least one touch sensitive element of a touch pad, step 702. Processing circuitry processes the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics, step 704. The processing circuitry then processes the user finger characteristics (and other information) to identify a user via pattern matching operations, step 706. The processing circuitry then alters vehicle settings/setting/choices based upon the user identity, step 708, and the process ends. In FIG. 7, all operations are performed by a single element of the vehicle, e.g., the vehicle control system processing module 202 or touch pad module 214A-214D of FIG. 2, for example, with the device sending directions to vehicle system to alter vehicle system settings.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine user finger/hand characteristics according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Processing the touch pad input by processing circuitry to determine user finger/hand characteristics can be performed by one or more of the following: identifying at least one finger orientation based upon the touch pad input, step 802; identifying at least one finger spacing based upon the touch pad input, step 804; identifying at least one finger width based upon the touch pad input, step 806; identifying a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations based upon the touch pad input, step 808; identifying a plurality of finger lengths based upon the touch pad input, step 810.

User finger characteristics, e.g., at least one finger orientation, at least one finger spacing, at least one finger width, a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations, and a plurality of finger lengths, may be determined by either or both of the vehicle control system processing module and the touch pad circuitry. The touch pad input can be processed by either/both the vehicle control system processing module and the touch pad circuitry to determine these characteristics. Once, determined, these characteristics are compared to stored data of the same type for stored users for identification. Upon initial setup, these characteristics are stored for a particular user.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers and using the heat transfer characteristics to identify a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The touch pad input is processed by processing circuitry of the touch pad module and/or the vehicle control system processing module. Heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers are determined based upon the touch pad input, step 902. The heat transfer characteristics are used to assist in identifying the user, step 904. These heat transfer characteristics can be used in conjunction with user finger characteristics to identify the user.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating processing touch pad input to determine pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers and using the pulse rate characteristics to identify a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The touch pad input is processed by touch pad processing circuitry and/or the vehicle control system processing module. Pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers are determined based upon the touch pad input, step 952. The pulse rate characteristics are used to assist in identifying the user, step 954. These pulse rate characteristics can be used in conjunction with user finger characteristics to identify the user.

FIG. 10A is a flowchart illustrating the use of location data to assist in identifying a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Location data is received from a navigation system of the vehicle, for example, step 1002. The location data may be GPS data, for example. The location data is transmitted to the vehicle control system processing module via the communications interface to assist in identifying the user, step 1004. The location data can be used in conjunction with user finger characteristics to identify the user. For example, one user of the vehicle may drive the vehicle to work while other users of the vehicle may only occasionally visit such location. In such case, using the location data makes identifying the user much easier.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart illustrating the use of voice data to assist in identifying a user according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Voice data is received from a microphone of the vehicle control system processing module or another vehicle component, step 1052. The voice data is transmitted to the vehicle control system processing module for processing to assist in identifying the user, step 1054. The voice data can be used in conjunction with user finger characteristics to identify the user. The voice data may be processed prior to transmission to the vehicle control system processing module. Alternately, the voice data may be captured by the vehicle control system processing module and used by the vehicle control system processing module to identify a user to augment other data used to identify the user.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating multiple modes of user identification operations of a vehicle control system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Operations 1100 begin when a user identification operations mode is selected, step 1102. When selecting initial user identification mode, step 1104, a menu is provided to a user, step 1110. The menu allows the user to select a name and, optionally, other user profile data, such as entertainment system settings, suspension system settings, engine control system settings, etc. Touch pad input is then captured and processed to determine finger/hand characteristics, step 1112. User identity and user preference profile/user preference data is established after fully interacting with the user, step 1114. The user profile is stored, step 1116, and the process returns to the step of user identification operations mode selection, step 1102. The user profile includes a user ID, user system preferences, user touch pad characteristics, e.g., finger characteristics, hand characteristics, heat transfer characteristics, pulse characteristics, vehicle location characteristics, etc.

When intermediate user identification mode is selected, step 1106, touch pad input is captured, step 1118. The system partially interacts with the user to correlate processed touch pad input to user profiles, step 1120. A user is selected based upon touch pad input and user interaction, step 1122. Such partial interaction may query the user to indicate that a correct user ID was selected based upon finger/hand characteristics, for example. However, the extent of user interaction is much less than that of the initial user identification mode 1104.

When automatic user identification mode is selected, step 1108, touch pad input is captured, step 1124. The system correlates the processed touch pad input to user profiles without user interaction, step 1126. User is selected based upon only the touch pad input and user profiles, without additional user interaction, step 1128. Thus, with the operations beginning at step 1108 no user interaction is required.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a vehicle control system in deleting non-matched users after expiration of a user identification period according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Operations 1200 begin when a user profile is retrieved, step 1202. A determination is made regarding whether the user profile has been accessed prior to expiration of a deletion period, step 1204. If No is determined at step 1204, the user profile is deleted for the particular user, step 1206. If Yes at step 1204, the user profile has been accessed prior to expiration of deletion period and the user profile is not deleted. From both a Yes determination at step 1204 and after step 1206, a determination is made regarding whether the process is complete, step 1208. If a Yes determination is made at step 1208, the process ends. If No, the next user profile is selected, step 1210, and the process repeats to the determination step 1204.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating the use of user preference data to assist in identifying a user by a vehicle control system according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. User preference data is identified at step 1302. The user preference information includes vehicle system selection preferences, seat position settings, etc. The user preference data is used to assist in identifying the user by comparing current vehicle settings and/or other pertinent information to the user preference data, step 1304. Thus, at step 1304, only those two users may be prime candidates for pattern matching of finger/hand characteristics. As another example, some users may be common active during particular hours of the day and these users are favored for pattern matching during those hours of the day.

The terms “circuit” and “circuitry” as used herein may refer to an independent circuit or to a portion of a multifunctional circuit that performs multiple underlying functions. For example, depending on the embodiment, processing circuitry may be implemented as a single chip processor or as a plurality of processing chips. Likewise, a first circuit and a second circuit may be combined in one embodiment into a single circuit or, in another embodiment, operate independently perhaps in separate chips. The term “chip,” as used herein, refers to an integrated circuit. Circuits and circuitry may comprise general or specific purpose hardware, or may comprise such hardware and associated software such as firmware or object code.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the performance of certain significant functions. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certain significant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significant functionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately” provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding term and/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermal noise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a few percent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, the term(s) “coupled to” and/or “coupling” and/or includes direct coupling between items and/or indirect coupling between items via an intervening item (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, an element, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for indirect coupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to.” As may even further be used herein, the term “operable to” indicates that an item includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform one or more its corresponding functions and may further include inferred coupling to one or more other items. As may still further be used herein, the term “associated with,” includes direct and/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item being embedded within another item. As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably,” indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desired relationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal 1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may be achieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2 or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

Moreover, although described in detail for purposes of clarity and understanding by way of the aforementioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It will be obvious to one of average skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit and scope of the invention, as limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A vehicle control system comprising: at least one touch pad having a plurality of touch sensitive elements; and processing circuitry communicatively coupled to the at least one touch pad, the processing circuitry operable to: receive touch pad input from the at least one touch pad, the touch pad input corresponding to a user's touch of at least some of the plurality of touch sensitive elements; process the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics; process the user finger characteristics to identify the user via pattern recognition; and alter at least one vehicle setting based upon the identified user.
 2. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one touch pad is located on one or more of: a steering wheel; a gear shifter; a throttle control; a door handle; and an arm rest.
 3. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one vehicle setting is selected from the group consisting of: entertainment system settings; navigation system settings; suspension system settings; seat settings; mirror settings; steering wheel settings; climate control system settings; suspension system settings; engine control system settings; lighting system settings; and communication system settings.
 4. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein: the processing circuitry comprises touch pad circuitry and system processing circuitry; the touch pad circuitry is operable to: process the touch pad input to determine the user finger characteristics; and initiate transmission of the determined user finger characteristics to the system processing circuitry; and the system processing circuitry is operable to process the determined user finger characteristics to identify the user via pattern recognition.
 5. The vehicle control system of claim 4, wherein in processing the touch pad input to determine the user finger characteristics, the touch pad circuitry is operable to perform operations selected from the group consisting of: identifying at least one finger orientation based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger spacing based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger width based upon the touch pad input; identifying a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations based upon the touch pad input; and identifying a plurality of finger lengths based upon the touch pad input.
 6. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein in processing the touch pad input to determine the user finger characteristics, the processing circuitry is operable to perform operations selected from the group consisting of: identifying at least one finger orientation based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger spacing based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger width based upon the touch pad input; identifying a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations based upon the touch pad input; and identifying a plurality of finger lengths based upon the touch pad input.
 7. The vehicle control system of claim 1: wherein in processing the touch pad input, the processing circuitry is further operable to determine heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers; and the processing circuitry is further operable to use the heat transfer characteristics to assist in identifying the user.
 8. The vehicle control system of claim 1: wherein in processing the touch pad input, the processing circuitry is further operable to determine pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers; and the processing circuitry is further operable to use the pulse rate characteristics to assist in identifying the user.
 9. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to: receive voice data from a microphone of the vehicle control system; and use the voice data to assist in identifying the user.
 10. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to: receive vehicle location data from a navigation system; and use the vehicle location data to assist in identifying the user.
 11. A method for operating a vehicle control system comprising: receiving touch pad input from the at least one touch pad of a vehicle, the touch pad input corresponding to a user's touch of at least some of the plurality of touch sensitive elements; processing the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics; processing the user finger characteristics to identify the user via pattern recognition; and altering at least one vehicle setting based upon the identified user.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving touch pad input comprises receiving the touch pad input from at least one touch pad located on one or more of: a steering wheel; a gear shifter; a throttle control; a door handle; and an arm rest.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one vehicle setting is selected from the group consisting of: entertainment system settings; navigation system settings; suspension system settings; seat settings; mirror settings; steering wheel settings; climate control system settings; suspension system settings; engine control system settings; lighting system settings; and communication system settings.
 14. The method of claim 11: wherein: processing the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics is performed by touch pad circuitry; and processing the user finger characteristics to identify the user via pattern recognition is performed by system processing circuitry; and further comprising transmitting the user finger characteristics from the touch pad circuitry to the system processing circuitry.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein processing the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics is selected from the group consisting of: identifying at least one finger orientation based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger spacing based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger width based upon the touch pad input; identifying a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations based upon the touch pad input; and identifying a plurality of finger lengths based upon the touch pad input.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein processing the touch pad input to determine user finger characteristics is selected from the group consisting of: identifying at least one finger orientation based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger spacing based upon the touch pad input; identifying at least one finger width based upon the touch pad input; identifying a plurality of finger knuckle/joint locations based upon the touch pad input; and identifying a plurality of finger lengths based upon the touch pad input.
 17. The method of claim 11: wherein processing the touch pad input includes determining heat transfer characteristics of a user's fingers based upon the touch pad input; and further comprising using the heat transfer rate characteristics to assist in identifying the user.
 18. The method of claim 11: wherein processing the touch pad input includes determining pulse rate characteristics of a user's fingers based upon the touch pad input; and further comprising using the pulse rate characteristics to assist in identifying the user.
 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving voice data from a microphone of the vehicle control system; and using the voice data to assist in identifying the user.
 20. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving vehicle location data from a navigation system; and using the vehicle location data to assist in identifying the user. 